


The Comfort of Your Company

by pagerunner



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, Vaxleth - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-09
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-08-07 14:57:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7719229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pagerunner/pseuds/pagerunner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vax goes to find Keyleth after a long and trying day and has a conversation...with Minxy. Set later in the series after a certain encounter with the Raven Queen, but no specific spoilers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Comfort of Your Company

When Vax goes looking for Keyleth that night, it’s Minxy he finds first.

He supposes he shouldn’t be surprised. It’s been a trying day. A trying _several_ days. As much as Kiki’s been putting on a brave face for his sake, she has to be feeling the strain. So when he gets to the edge of camp and finds not a half-elven druid sitting beneath the trees but a big cat in a protective, huddled curl, Vax looks on regretfully for a while before approaching his exhausted…

Well. He pauses right there.

 _Lover?_ he wonders, trying to fill in the blank, even while he steps closer. _Girlfriend? Sweetheart? Is any sort of possessive even_ appropriate _? Gods, what should_ _I call her?_ It’s not the first time he’s wondered, and it’s not an easy question to ask anyone else, either, especially within earshot of his sister. He can just imagine Vex teasing him, and now _Schmoopsiepoo?_ is echoing somewhere in the back of his head.

Vax shushes it as best he can, deciding that labels are the least of his concerns right now. Instead, he goes to Keyleth’s—Minxy’s—side.

“Hey,” he says softly. The saber-toothed tiger stirs, lifting her head from Keyleth’s bedroll. “I came to see if you’re all right.”

She doesn’t change form, and so of course she doesn’t speak. She does give a half-hearted sort of sniff. Vax looks her over and asks, “Can I sit?”

Minxy makes a little head-tilt gesture he’s come to understand as a _yes._ Vax sweeps his cloak out of the way and sits beside her, legs crossed, hands resting between his knees. He stops to think a while. All the dangers they’ve been facing, this business with the Raven Queen still looming over him…

Vax reaches out and gently touches her head, stroking between the ears. “Hell of a time lately, I know.”

Minxy sighs. Vax watches her. He doesn’t know much about the body language of tigers, but quite a few person-like attributes tend to show through when Keyleth’s in this form. Something about the set of her shoulders looks familiar, and oddly guilty.

“It’s not on you, darling,” he says softly. “None of it’s on you.”

Minxy rolls her eyes his way, looking a little exasperated. Vax can guess where she’s going with this. “Listen, I know you had bad luck with that water spell, but that was just one time…”

She gives a great, tired huff. Vax, suddenly struck by the absurdity of watching such a fierce creature look so down on herself, smothers a smile. He does so mostly by bending down and pressing a kiss to her head.

“You still got us out of trouble,” he says. “And you’re _always_ getting me out of trouble. You are…my lifeline, Kiki. And I know you don’t deserve that burden, and I’m sorry for that, but I’m still so grateful, and I…”

She twists around again to eye him. Vax catches himself. No matter how well he knows her, those teeth can be unnerving. He gives a nervous chuckle. “I’m going on again, aren’t I?”

Minxy’s reply is a sound that suspiciously resembles “mmm-hmm.”

“Well, to be fair, I have to pick up some slack here. While she has many admirable qualities, Minxy isn’t the world’s best conversationalist.”

Minxy nudges him, a teasing little gesture. Due to their respective sizes, it’s still enough to topple Vax halfway over. There’s a very feline sort of chuckle at the results, then a low purr. Vax, righting himself, looks up at her and smiles.

Sabers notwithstanding, what he’s about to say is still entirely true.

“You’re lovely, you know that? Whichever form you take.” He pauses. “All right, maybe _lovely_ isn’t the best word for the scorpion, that one’s kind of creepy…”

Minxy licks his cheek. It’s surprisingly rough, making Vax yelp, but then he just laughs, because Minxy’s purring even louder now, sounding both amused and content. He swipes his cheek dry and settles back at her side. “These days,” he says quietly, “I’m learning to make my peace with creepy, anyway.”

Minxy gently nudges him again. He strokes a small patch of her fur and murmurs, “But I’m glad I have you with me to face it.”

He gets an impression then, something soft and fleeting, of Keyleth looking at him, touching his hands, smiling. Vax sighs and leans into Minxy’s warmth. She finally begins relaxing, too. The rhythmic sound of her breathing and the quiet reverberations beneath are remarkably lulling.

“Mind if I stay?” he asks softly.

He swears he can hear her this time. _Of course you can stay._

“Good,” he murmurs, and lets his eyes drift shut.

And some time later, when something makes him stir, it’s to find that she’s let her spell fade. It’s Keyleth that he’s holding.

Vax goes very still in that moment, and a little bit breathless. She sleeps on, though, looking utterly at peace…and far, far more than just _lovely._ She’s exquisite. Even though he knows she’s no less fierce a creature in this or any other form.

He wouldn’t have it any other way.

Vax breathes in the scent of her hair, curls one arm closer around her waist, and settles in for sleep with the woman that he loves.


End file.
